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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Towards understanding the abundance of non-pollen palynomorphs : A comparison of fossil algae, algal pigments and sedaDNA from temperate lake sediments

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description

Given the increased interest in non-pollen palynomorphs (microscopic objects other than pollen identified from pollen slides) in palaeoecological studies, it is necessary to seek a deeper understanding of the reliability of these results. We combined quantitative information of algal pigments and sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) of phylotaxonomical resolution to validate the richness and abundance of fossil algae in the sediment of a small temperate lake. For the first time, fossil and sedaDNA algae data were combined in a composite data-set and used to reconstruct algae turnover rates over the last 14,500 years. This comparison serves as both an example of howfossil algae can be used to answer various research questions and as a method of revealing towhat extent we can rely on palaeoecological interpretations based solely on the fossil algae record from pollen slides. We wish to thank EBOR, Institutional Research Funding IUT1-8 and IUT21-2, and Personal Research Funding granted to V.K. (PUT-134 and PUT-1389) for support. We would also like to thank B. van Geel and the second anonymous reviewer for their constructive comments and suggestions. We wish to thank EBOR, Institutional Research Funding IUT1-8 and IUT21-2, and Personal Research Funding granted to V.K. (PUT-134 and PUT-1389) for support. We would also like to thank B. van Geel and the second anonymous reviewer for their constructive comments and suggestions.